India (Hindī: भारत Bhārat), officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the largest democracy in the world. India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres[1] and borders Pakistan[2] to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. India is adjacent to the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka.
Home to the Indus Valley Civilisation, and a centre of important trade routes and vast empires, India has long played a major role in human history. Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism all have their origins in India, while Islam, Judaism and Christianity enjoy a strong cultural heritage having arrived through trade even before foreign invasions, and having reached the subcontinent before European occupation of the region. Colonised as part of the British Empire in the nineteenth century, India gained independence in 1947 as a unified nation after an intense struggle for independence. The country's culture, population, wildlife, geographical terrain and climate system are among the most diverse in the world.